a vacation bible school based on a wrinkle in...

© Meg Wagner, 2009 Published by LeaderResources Page | 1

A Vacation Bible School based on

A Wrinkle in Time

by Madeleine L’Engle

Written by Meg Wagner Trinity Episcopal Church – Iowa City, IA


DARE TO BE DIFFERENT BY MEG WAGNER

OVERVIEW

Dare to be Different is a magical journey into the book A Wrinkle in Time by beloved Episcopal author,

Madeleine L’Engle. We follow Meg Murry, an awkward young girl, as she embarks on a journey through

time and space to save her father. Meg is accompanied by her younger brother Charles Wallace and a

friend, Calvin O’Keefe. On the journey we are be guided by a number of out‐of‐this world beings: Mrs.

Whatsit, Mrs. Which, Mrs. Who, the Happy Medium and Aunt Beast. Through games, activities, crafts,

and adventures we learn about our spiritual gifts, how our differences make us special, and we affirm

the power of love, courage, and self‐sacrifice.

Dare to be Different is written as a one week Vacation Bible School for children ages 5‐12 but could be

adapted for other uses. For small group activities we split into groups by age. Small groups were the

same all week and each group had a staff member.

DAILY ACTIVITIES – OVERVIEW

MONDAY: Our Special Gifts Meet Meg, Charles Wallace, Calvin, Mrs. Murry and Mrs. Whatsit. Enjoy games and crafts that explore the special gifts and abilities that God has given us. Learn about Joseph and the gifts God gave to him. TUESDAY: Following the Footsteps of Saints Meet Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which and the Happy Medium and travel to Uriel. Learn about the saints who have gone before us and what their lives have to teach us. WEDNESDAY: Daring To Be Different Visit Camazotz and meet the Prime Coordinator. Discover how our differences shape us and make us special. Learn the Bible story about Daniel and his friends who dared to be different. THURSDAY: Foolishness, Faith, and Free Will Meet Meg’s dad and Aunt Beast. Learn about the free will God has given us, the purpose to which He calls us, and the power of faith. Hear about the Israelites in the desert and how their faith was tested and rewarded. Through yoga, we will learn to pray with our whole body. FRIDAY: The Power of Love Engage in our own battle with IT; affirm the power of love, courage and self‐sacrifice and the strengths that our differences give us. Celebrate God’s unconditional love for us and explore ways to follow God’s commandment to love one another as He loves us.

* Each day we will watch portions of the movie of A Wrinkle in Time, Disney 2003, rated TVPG


THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS

Nearly all of Madeleine L’ Engle’s books reflect her strong faith in God and belief in Christian love – and

A Wrinkle in Time is no exception. Published in 1962, the story is grounded in Christian tradition and

theology – and mixes faith and science, religion and fiction together. L’Engle offers some progressive

theological thought including the idea that all human beings have the ability to be saved by God. Over

the years, the book has had its share of controversy and was even banned in some schools for this

blending of theology, Bible quotes included in the story from Isaiah, Romans and Corinthians, and the

science fiction/fantasy elements. However, it remains a hugely popular children’s book. It has been

through more than 60 printings, won the Newbery Medal for best children’s book in 1963, and was

adapted for television by Disney in 2003.

A Wrinkle in Time affirms the power of God’s unconditional love and the power of that love manifested

in us to overcome darkness. Her book shows the reader that the world is full of examples of light and

love to guide us. By exploring her work in this context, participants can engage in the story in a unique

way. We celebrate the unique gifts and abilities that God has given us, explore the lives of people in the

Bible and saints who have been lights for us, and re‐commit ourselves to changing the world around us

through love. Yes, darkness exists in our world. It exists in extreme poverty, in war, hatred, and

pandemic disease – those things are all too real. But so are light and love and the power of God working

in each of us to change the world and make it better.

“If I have something that is too difficult

for adults to swallow,

then I will write it in a book for children.”

Madeleine L’Engle


STAGING

As with any Vacation Bible School, the only limits on staging are your imagination & how far you can

stretch your budget and volunteers. It has been our experience that by doing VBS based on beloved

children’s books, volunteers have never been a problem. The following are suggestions based on what

worked for us.

In order to create different areas, we used several different ready‐made SceneSetters™, which are large

sheets that portray different scenes. They are available at many party supply stores, or you can also

easily find them on the internet by typing “scenesetter” into a search engine such as Google.

SETS

MURRY HOUSE: Each day begins in the Murry House. We tried to make this space warm and

inviting with comfy chairs, lamps, and a dining room table. We wanted the room to feel cozy and used

the Narthex of our church.

MRS. WHO, WHICH, & WHATSITS HOUSE: We took canvas drop cloths and painted a

forest on them outside the door to their house (which was our library). We gathered sticks, etc. to place

on the floor at the base of the canvas. We added some Halloween elements as is described in the book.

Inside, we tried to make the end of the room where the character would be sitting feel like a cozy living

room. Other ideas: add a fake fireplace for Mrs. Whatsit to be sitting and rocking in front of.

URIEL: Uriel is described in the book as a place with sunlit fields, green grass, tiny multicolored

flowers, mountain, birds singing, and very peaceful, puffy white clouds. If we weren’t a downtown

church, I would have done this part outside. But in our downtown setting, we used scenesetters™ of

green fields with flowers & blue skies to cover the walls. The room was strewn with tissue paper

flowers. We played a constant loop of a recording of birds singing as background noise. In a room off

Uriel we set up “the Black Thing”. We used a starry night scenesetters™ and covered a large section

with black plastic to show the Black Thing.

CAMAZOTZ: We used the most institutional feeling room we had. We painted grey‐green houses

that all looked alike onto canvas drop cloths for the walls of the room. The room should have a hard

surface floor for the ball bouncing activity.

THE HAPPY MEDIUM'S CAVE: We painted a stone arched entrance cut out of a canvas drop

cloth as our entry so that participants had to duck to get into the cave. The floor was covered in bright

pillows for the participants to sit on. We lit the room with camouflaged floor lights so it would feel more

like a cave and blacked out the windows.

AUNT BEAST’S HOUSE – To make the room feel colder, we hung a lot of white fabric. We used

quilt batting around the edges of the room to soften the edges and make it feel like snow.


A WORD ABOUT TESSERACTS

Your “wrinkle” in time or “tesseract” should be some special way of traveling – for us it meant using our

church elevator which was covered in starry night scenesetters™.

CHARACTERS AND COSTUMES

MEG: AN ADOLESCENT GIRL, STRUGGLING TO FIT IN AT SCHOOL, INSECURE AND

UNCOMFORTABLE IN HER OWN SKIN. SHE FEELS LIKE AN OUTCAST, DIFFERENT THAN

THE REST OF THE STUDENTS AND HELD TO A HIGHER STANDARD BY HER TEACHERS

BECAUSE OF HER PARENTS’ NOTORIETY. IN THE COURSE OF THE STORY, MEG LEARNS

THAT THE THINGS THAT MAKE HER DIFFERENT ARE GIFTS, THAT HER LOVE IS A

POWERFUL THING, AND THAT SHE HAS MORE COURAGE THAN SHE EVER KNEW.

CHARLES WALLACE: A HIGHLY EXTRAORDINARY FIVE YEAR OLD (PLAYED BY A 12

YEAR OLD IN OUR CASE), WHO IS ALMOST SUPER‐NATURAL. HE CAN READ THE MINDS

OF HIS SISTER AND MOTHER AND HAS AN AMAZING VOCABULARY.

CALVIN: IS DESCRIBED AS AN ADOLESCENT BOY WHO IS “TALL AND SKINNY WEARING

A BLUE SHIRT AND WORN TROUSERS, AND HAS HAIR THAT NEEDS CUTTING.” CALVIN IS

AN OUTCAST IN HIS OWN WAY, ALTHOUGH POPULAR AT SCHOOL, HE HIDES HOW

MISERABLE HIS FAMILY LIFE REALLY IS. HE NEVER FELT LIKE HE FIT IN ANYWHERE UNTIL

HE MEETS THE MURRYS.

MRS. MURRY: A RENOWNED SCIENTIST AND BRILLIANT WOMAN, MRS. MURRY HAS

TRIED TO HIDE HER WORRY OVER HER HUSBAND’S DISAPPEARANCE FROM HER

CHILDREN. WHEN WE FIRST MEET HER SHE IS IN HER PAJAMAS AND ROBE, HAVING

BEEN AWOKEN.

MRS. WHATSIT: AN ECCENTRIC WOMAN, WHO LOOKS LIKE A TRAMP WHEN WE

FIRST MEET HER: SEVERAL COLORFUL SCARVES TIED AROUND HER HEAD, A MEN’S HAT

PERCHED ATOP, A "SHOCKING" PINK STOLE KNOTTED AROUND HER OVERCOAT, AND

WEARING BIG BLACK RUBBER BOOTS.

MRS. WHO: IS DESCRIBED AS A PLUMP LITTLE WOMAN WITH ENORMOUS

SPECTACLES, WHO IS SEWING ON A SHEET WHEN WE FIRST ENCOUNTER HER. SHE

OFTEN SPEAKS IN QUOTES, USING OTHER PEOPLE’S THOUGHTS TO EXPRESS HER OWN.


MRS. WHICH: WE CHOSE NOT TO HAVE A PERSON PLAY MRS. WHICH, SINCE SHE

APPEARS AS AN APPARITION IN THE BOOK.

HAPPY MEDIUM: FULL OF JOY AND LAUGHTER WHEN WE FIRST MEET HIM/HER. HAS

A BEAUTIFUL SILK TURBAN AND LONG FLOWING GOWNS AND A CRYSTAL BALL.

PRIME COORDINATOR: DRESSED IN BLACK CHOIR ROBES, THE PRIME COORDINATOR

IS A DOMINATING PRESENCE. HE IS SMILING, BUT INSINCERE; SEEMINGLY FRIENDLY,

BUT NEVER WARM. IN THE BOOK HE IS DESCRIBED AS HAVING RED EYES.

MR. MURRY: MR. MURRY, A BRILLIANT SCIENTIST HIMSELF, HAS BEEN MISSING FOR

SOME TIME WHEN THE STORY BEGINS. UNKNOWN TO THE CHILDREN, HE HAS

DISCOVERED HOW TO TESSER, AND HAS BEEN A CAPTIVE OF “IT”, REFUSING TO BE

TAKEN OVER BY THE DARK THING. WHEN WE MEET HIM, HE IS DISHEVELED,

UNSHAVEN, IN DIRTY CLOTHES, HAVING BEEN A PRISONER ON CAMAZOTZ.

AUNT BEAST: DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK AS A LARGE, FURRY AND TENTACLED

CREATURE, WE OPTED TO HAVE OUR AUNT BEAST DRESS IN SOFT, FUZZY CLOTHING

THAT WOULD BE COMFORTABLE FOR THE YOGA EXERCISES SHE WOULD LEAD. THE

TIME WITH AUNT BEAST GIVES MEG (AND THE PARTICIPANTS) THE OPPORTUNITY FOR

RENEWAL, REFLECTIONS, AND RESTORATION OF SPIRIT.

MUSIC SUGGESTIONS

Listen to My Heart Song

Lord I Lift Your Name on High

Father, We Adore You

Seek Ye First

I Am the Resurrection

Let Us Break Bread Together

‘Tis a Gift to be Simple


MONDAY: OUR SPECIAL GIFTS

CHARACTERS: MRS, WHATSIT, MRS. MURRY, MEG, CHARLES WALLACE, CALVIN

8:30 Registration, Nametags

8:45 Singing/Introductions & Welcome ‐ introduce Meg, Charles Wallace, Mrs. Murry

9:00 Movie (Time: 0:00‐26:21)

9:30 Mrs. Whatsit bursts into the room with several scarves tied about her head in many colors, a men's felt hat perched atop, a "shocking" pink stole knotted about a rough overcoat, and black rubber boots. She appears to be “blown” in – weaving about the room

Mrs. Whatsit: Now, don't you be worried. (voice muffled under scarves) I've been blown off course. And then I realized this was Charles Wallace's house and I thought I'd just come in and rest a bit before proceeding on my way.

Meg: How did you know this was Charles Wallace's house?

Mrs. Whatsit: By the smell, of course. (begins undoing scarves) My, but it is lovely and warm in here and look at all the lovely people you have over! (smiling warmly at participants)

Mrs. Murry: (still looking a bit confused) Do sit down, Ms. ……??

Mrs. Whatsit: Mrs. Whatsit, my dear. Thank you. (sits) I don’t mind if I do! You see, I've only been in the neighborhood a short time and I didn't think I was going to like the neighbors at all until your sweet little Charles Wallace came over with his dog. Who knew he had this many friends!?! He is a very lucky little boy to have people who understand him.

Mrs. Murry: I'm afraid he doesn't really. None of us is quite up to Charles.

Mrs. Whatsit: But at least you aren't trying to squash him down. You're letting him be himself. (looking around…seems to be lost in thought…the others don’t quite know what to say.) Well, it is about time I was on my way – I’ve so much to do! I just can't waste time sitting around doing nothing! (She struggles to get out of the chair, Meg and Mrs. Murry help pull her up and she makes her way to the door, where she pauses before leaving.)

Speaking of “ways”, my dears, there is such a thing as a tesseract, you know.

Mrs. Murry: (voice trembling) What did you say?

Mrs. Whatsit: (calls out as she is leaving) I said, there is such a thing as a tesseract.

Mrs. Murry: (whispering) The tesseract ‐ what did she mean? How could she have


known? (rushes out of the room.)

Meg: Charles Wallace? What was that all about? Where does she live?

Charles Wallace: I’ll take you there.

9:40 Bathroom Break

9:45 Leave for Mrs. Who, Whatsit, & Which's house

9:50 Meet Calvin outside door to Mrs. Who, Which, & Whatsit's house.

Meg: What are you doing here, Calvin?

Calvin: I’m not sure you will believe me if I tell you… (looking around at all the participants) Can you all keep a secret? Sometimes I just get a feeling about things, and I always try to follow my feelings. Today I had the strongest feeling that I needed come here.

(Calvin knocks, upon hearing, “Come in” enter and have group sit down. In a rocking chair is Mrs. Who, sewing busily on a sheet.)

Charles Wallace: Mrs. Who ‐ what are you doing?

Mrs. Who: Making ghosts, of course! I would have thought you would have guessed, Charles Wallace. In case we need to frighten anybody away! Whatsit thought we should do it appropriately. That's why it is so much fun to stay in a haunted house.

Meg: Where is Mrs. Whatsit?

Mrs. Who: She's very busy right now. You know, It’s getting near time, getting very near time. Ab honesto virum bonum nihil deterret. Seneca. Nothing deters a good man from doing what is honorable. And your father is very good man, darling, but right now he needs our help.

Meg: What do you mean?

Mrs. Who: Not to worry all of you – we won't go without you. But there isn’t much time. Fortunately you already have everything you need for the journey! Did you know that Charles Wallace isn't the only one who is special? God has given each one of us special gifts and abilities.

JOSEPH AND HIS GIFTS FROM GOD

Do you know the story of Joseph and his special gifts? He was a young man when he learned about his very special gifts from God! God gave Joseph powerful dreams, the wisdom to know what the dreams meant, and the courage to tell other people about them. Joseph had ELEVEN brothers. How many of you can even imagine having eleven brothers around to play with, try to share with, or fight with?


Because Joseph was one of the youngest sons, his father Jacob spent more time with him, and he became very special to him. Jacob had a special coat made for Joseph. It was stunning! It had all the colors of the rainbow on it and everyone agreed it was absolutely beautiful! Everyone of course, except Joseph’s bothers. They were very jealous of the coat and thought it meant that their father loved Joseph more. One night Joseph had one of his dreams from God and he shared it with his brothers. He told them, “Last night I had the strangest dream. We were all working in the field together tying up bunches of grain when suddenly my bunch of grain stood up and all of yours gathered around and bowed to me." This did not make the brothers happy at all. In fact, they looked pretty mad. Joseph continued. "Then I had another dream that the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed down to me." This made the brothers even angrier. They were pretty sure Joseph thought they were the eleven stars bowing to him. "Who do you think you are?" they asked. "You think you are so much better than us". Joseph’s brothers decided they disliked Joseph even more, if that were possible A few days later Joseph's father asked him to check on his brothers who were working in the fields. When they saw Joseph coming, they made a plan to kill him. But Joseph's oldest brother Reuben heard this he said, "Instead of killing him, let’s just throw him in a well out here in the field." Reuben thought by doing this, the brothers would be satisfied and he thought he could come back and rescue Joseph after the other brothers left. So when Joseph got to them, they took his rainbow coat and they threw him in the well. Reuben went off to work in another part of the field, planning to come back to rescue Joseph. After a little while some people came by that were on their way to Egypt to sell some things. All of a sudden, one of the brothers had an idea! Why not sell Joseph to them? That way, he will be gone for good and we don’t have to kill him! The other brothers liked this idea, so they sold him to the people who were going to Egypt. But Reuben hadn't seen what happened and when he came back to the well to rescue Joseph, Joseph was gone! He had been taken to Egypt and sold to an important man named Potiphar, an assistant to the Pharaoh of Egypt. The rest of the brothers took Joseph's beautiful rainbow coat and dipped it in animal blood to make it seem like an animal had killed Joseph. They took the coat and showed it to their father, who cried and cried. No one could make him feel better. Joseph started out as a slave in Egypt, but the Lord was with Joseph and helped him. God had given special gifts to Joseph and the gifts that God had given him – his dreams, his wisdom, and his courage – saw him through hard times. Eventually the Pharaoh (the ruler of all Egypt) learned of Joseph’s special gifts.


One day after Pharaoh had a dream, he asked Joseph "Can you tell me what my dreams mean?" Joseph replied, "I can't by myself, but God helps me." So Pharaoh told Joseph his dream and then Joseph said, "God is giving you a warning that there will be seven years when no food will grow. But God has also shown you what to do. First there will be seven years before the bad years that will be very good. So good in fact, that there will be lots and lots of extra food for everyone. If you save a little bit of the food each year you will have enough to get you through the bad years." Pharaoh listened to what Joseph told him, and then he even put Joseph in charge of all the land and food of Egypt. When the bad years came, people from all over came to buy grain from Joseph. Joseph's brothers even came. When his brothers stood in front of him, Joseph recognized them, but they did not know who he was. (It had been over 10 years since they had seen him). The brothers all bowed to him because he was an important person. Just as God’s dream had shown him they would. Now………… you all must be hungry after all that talk of food – let’s see what I have around…

10:10 Snack; apples

10:20 Say good bye to Mrs. Who and head back to the Murry house.

Activity

MY GIFTS

On a big poster or chalkboard list together all of the gifts and talents that the participants can come up with. For example: God has given me the gift of….being good at sports, playing music, being a good friend, etc.

10:25 Announce small “Family” groups and split into different areas.

Introductions – Ask each person to share their name and one thing that is special about them.

Discussion – Who has brothers or sisters? Have you ever wanted something your brother or sister had? A toy, a talent, his clothes or her hair? Sometimes it is really hard to be happy with the things we have and not want what someone else has. But God made each one of us special. Even our family group here is special and needs a special name – what should we name ourselves?

POSTERS – In small groups, make a poster with the family name and pictures of each person’s talents & gifts.

10:35 Craft


SELF PORTRAITS

Materials: Paper, markers, various craft materials, such as feathers, fabric, paper, beads, yarn, or glitter, and glue. Have kids use the materials to make their own self portrait that is a picture of who they ARE – not necessarily what they look like in the mirror.

10:45

11:00

In large group, share posters and the self portraits and hang up around the room.

Games:

A LONG, LONG HISTORY

Form into teams of equal number. Activity Each group must construct a continuous line of objects they have in their possession. The group that builds the longest line in the specified time is the winner. They may only use objects in their personal possession. (Do not inform them, but this includes pens, belts, shoelaces, shoes, socks, coins, a watch, necklace, etc.) The only specification is it must be personal objects. This can be quite fun and quite interesting once the obvious items are out of the way – don’t be surprised if they even take the laces out of their shoes to extend the line. Afterwards This line you have built, in many way represents our church family. We each bring various gifts, talents, items that help the church. Other people have come before you and also added their gifts and talents to the church.

ALIKE AND DIFFERENT

Explain that everyone is alike in some ways and everyone is different in some ways. In this game, the leader will call out a category, like “Favorite kind of pizza” Each of the staff will pick a kind of pizza and yell it out, ie. Pepperoni, cheese, etc. Kids should go stand with the staff member they agree with the most or stay in the middle of the room if their favorite is not called. Other suggestions include; favorite type of movie, favorite fast‐food restaurant, favorite kind of music, least favorite food etc. At the end the leader can emphasize all the ways that even though God created us each to be special, there are many things we can share.

11:30 Announcements, song & depart


TUESDAY: FOLLOWING THE FOOTSTEPS OF SAINTS

CHARACTERS: MRS, WHATSIT, MEG, CHARLES WALLACE, CALVIN, HAPPY MEDIUM,

MRS. WHO

8:30 Arrival & nametags

8:35 Singing & Welcome

8:45 Movie (26:21‐56:35)

9:15 Mrs. Who and Whatsit enter, windswept.

Mrs. Whatsit: Oh my, how I wish there was no wind out there. It's so difficult to get around with all these clothes on. (looking around) Well, come on. Why are you all just sitting there? There is so much to do! Come on, everyone, come on!

9:20 Travel (“Tesser”) with Mrs. Whatsit to Uriel where Mrs. Who is waiting.

9:25 Mrs. Who & Mrs. Whatsit whisper to each other, giggling.

Charles Wallace: Ahem. Excuse me. (They don’t stop, so he repeats, louder) Excuse me. If you ladies have had your fun, I think you should explain to everyone a little more about where we are and what we are doing here.

Mrs. Whatsit: Charles dearest, we mustn't lose our sense of humor – the only way to cope with something deadly serious is to try to treat it a little lightly.

Mrs. Who: But remember, Nothing is hopeless, we must hope for everything. Euripides said that.

Charles Wallace: Mrs. Who, I wish you'd stop quoting people that we’ve never heard of!

Mrs. Whatsit: But Charles, it helps her to quote – she has such trouble coming up with the right words on her own.

Calvin: Can one of you tell us where we are?

Mrs. Whatsit: We are on Uriel, the third planet of the star Malak in the spiral nebula Messier 101.

Calvin: Sure. Well that clears it all up. Even if we traveled at the speed of light it would take us years and years to get here.


Mrs. Whatsit: Oh, we don't travel at the speed of anything. We tesser. Or you might choose to say, we wrinkle.

Calvin: Clear as mud.

Mrs. Whatsit: (Uses a piece of string and the explanation from the book to show how you might “wrinkle” the fabric of space and time and step from one place to another quickly) See?

Meg: I get it!

Mrs. Who: We brought you here to rest and get your strength before you go on.

Mrs. Whatsit: Can all of you hear the birds singing? Can you understand what they are saying?

Charles Wallace: I think I can understand a little – but would you put it into words for all of them?

Mrs. Whatsit: (listening) It is from the book of Isaiah: “Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise to the end of the earth, you that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the islands and those who live there. Let the wilderness and the cities lift their voice; Let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory unto the Lord!” (sighs and picks three flowers and gives them to Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin) Each of you take one. I'll tell you how to use them later. Actually – we’d better make some more – you will all need them soon enough!

9:35 Craft

TISSUE PAPER FLOWERS

Have enough multi‐colored tissue paper squares cut so that each person can have at

least 5. Show them how to accordion fold their papers together. Wrap a pipe

cleaner around the middle. Gently pull up on the tissue paper on each side to make

a tissue paper flower.

9:45 Snack – Ideas: Jell‐O cut into flower shapes or cheese cut with a small flower cookie cutter with a pretzel stem.

10:00 Mrs. Whatsit introduces the concept of the Dark Thing and explains how it has been swallowing up worlds. Opens the door to the room with the Dark Thing display (see set notes)


Mrs. Whatsit: All right, children, you can use your flowers now. Any time you need to, you can hold the flower up to your face and breathe in.

Do you see that blackness?

Calvin: Make it go away, Mrs. Whatsit. Make it go away. It's evil

Meg: Is that Darkness what my father is fighting?

Mrs. Whatsit: Yes, my child. But do not despair. We would never have brought you here if there was no hope. There is always hope. We are asking you to do a difficult thing, but we know you can do it. Meg’s father needs your help. Are you ready to wrinkle again? We have a friend we want you to meet.

10:05 Travel (“Tesser”) to the Happy Medium’s Cave

Happy Medium (laughing at crystal ball as kids enter)

Mrs. Whatsit: We are here!

Happy Medium: (bows head deeply to visitors, smiling widely)

Mrs. Whatsit: Oh, Medium dear, these are the children. We want them to see their home planet.

Happy Medium: (smile disappears) Oh, why must you make me look at unpleasant things when there are so many delightful ones to see? (sighs and hold up ball)

Mrs. Whatsit: Look, children. Look into it well.

Mrs. Who: (musically) Que la terre est petitie a qui la voit des cieux! Said Delille. How small is the earth to him who looks down from heaven.

Meg: Is it because of our pollution that it looks like that? Global warming?

Mrs. Whatsit: No Meg.

Charles Wallace: It's the Thing! It's the Dark Thing we just saw!

Meg: Did it just come to earth?

Mrs. Whatsit: No, Meg. It hasn't just come. It has been there for a great many years. It is evil.

Mrs. Who: And we will continue to fight it.

Mrs. Whatsit: And we're not alone, you know, children. All through the universe it's being fought, all through the cosmos. People have been fighting it on Earth for a


very long, long time.

Calvin: Who have our fighters been?

Mrs. Whatsit: Oh, you must know them, dear.

Mrs. Who: And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Charles Wallace: Jesus! Why, of course, Jesus.

Mrs. Whatsit: Of course! Go on, Charles, love. There are others. All of your great artists. They've been lights for us to see by. Can you name others?

Calvin: Leonardo da Vinci? And Michelangelo?

Charles Wallace: And Shakespeare and Bach! And Pasteur and Einstein!

Calvin: And Gandhi and Buddha and Beethoven and St. Francis!

The Happy Medium: All of the saints dear. In fact, there are a few saints we want to tell you about: St. Valentine, St. Spiridion, St. Rose, and St. Lawrence.

10:10 Saint Stories – split into family groups for the saint stories. Each family hears a different Saint Story based on age‐appropriateness. (see appendix)

10:20 Activity

MAKE SAINT WINDOWS

Materials: One Plexiglas sheet per family, large enough that many people can work

on it together, glass paint, dry erase markers, 1 sheet newsprint, pencils. You may

also want to find images or symbols in books or using the Internet and have those

images available for people to trace and include in their windows.

As a family group, decide which parts of the saint’s story you want to represent with

your window. Using the newsprint, sketch out what the group wants the window to

look like. Put the newsprint under the Plexiglas so each person can work on filling in

the window with the glass paint. When dry, hang them in the windows and they will

look like stained glass.

10:45 Movie

11:30 Announcements, song, depart


WEDNESDAY: DARING TO BE DIFFERENT

CHARACTERS: MEG, CHARLES WALLACE, CALVIN, PRIME COORDINATOR

8:15 Nametags

8:30 Singing & Welcome

8:45 MOVIE (56:35‐1:28:06)

9:30 Meg explains the gifts they will take with them to Camazotz make labels with gift names Groups 1&2 Travel to Camazotz

Groups 3 & 4 Work on I am Special Book – see additional materials

9:35 In Camazotz: Meet the Prime Coordinator Prime Coordinator: Welcome to Camazotz and Central Intelligence. This is where IT makes IT's home. Have you come to be re‐processed? Let me see your papers. Meg: We don't have any papers. Prime Coordinator: No papers?? Proceed directly to the re‐processing area at once. (Shows them to where they will play the games)

Games: Led by the Prime Coordinator

SYNCHRONIZED MOVEMENTS

Prime Coordinator: In Camazotz, we live in perfect rhythm. We do everything together and in an orderly fashion. You clearly need LOTS of practice. In small groups, practice doing the following perfectly together. First try with a partner, and then as a group.

1. Bounce balls at the exact same time and rhythm 2. Clap at the exact same time and rhythm 3. Snap at the exact same time and rhythm

When each group has had a chance to try, have each group pick one thing to try as a large group. Begin with 4‐5 people and add people.

GROUP FREEZE

Everyone starts milling about the room. Anyone may decide to stop walking at any time. As soon as one player stops walking, everyone needs to freeze in position. As soon as everyone is frozen, start moving again. Each time, the leader should start the


group moving in a different way; crab walking, tiptoeing, running, hopping, etc. The goal is to be so aware of each other that you can stop together as a group.

SPOT THE LEADER

Choose one person to be “it” who will wait outside the room. Sitting in a circle, choose someone to be the leader. The leader will start a movement such as snapping or clapping in a rhythm that the rest of the group will follow. When “It” comes back in and is observing them, the leader will subtly change the movement, with the whole group following. The goal is to not be detected as the one changing the group’s movements. The person who is “it” has three guesses to figure out who the leader is. If he/she guesses correctly, the leader becomes “it”. If he/she guesses incorrectly, they choose someone to be “it”. (When not actively leading, the Prime Coordinator observes them, making notes on his clipboard, clearly dismayed at the lack of synchronization) After the games, Groups 1&2 return to the Murry House.

10:00 Groups 1 & 2 Work on I am Special Book – see additional materials

Groups 3 & 4 Travel to Camazotz for time with Prime Coordinator and games.

10:25 All groups in Camazotz Prime Coordinator: (voice now silky smooth) I know who you are now. How is it that there are so many of you? Charles Wallace: These are my friends. Prime Coordinator: I see. Well, I have been waiting for you. Soon our minds will be one, I am willing to assume all the pain, all the responsibility, all the burdens of thoughts and decision. Charles Wallace: We will make our own decisions, thank you. Prime Coordinator: But of course. And our decisions will be one, yours and mine. Don't you see how much easier for you that would be? We will talk more, but first enjoy something to eat. It may be different than what you are used to, but I assure you it is nourishing.

10:30 Snack – Cupcakes and frosting, dyed grey with grey icing

10:45 Leave Camazotz and go to small group areas: Discuss Camazotz: What was it like? What would it be like to live there? What things would be easier? What things would be harder?


Activity

FINGERPRINTS

Materials: an ink pad and small piece of paper for each person. In small groups, have each person put their fingerprint on one of the small pieces of paper. Compare them. Have someone read aloud Psalm 119:73 and talk about it. It tells us that God made us special so we could serve him in different ways. Just like each of us have our own unique fingerprint; we also have our own way to serve God. Psalm 119:73 ‐‐‐ “Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.”

11:00 Everyone meets together in the Murry house with Mrs. Whatsit. After asking about their time in Camazotz she shares the following story.

DANIEL AND HIS FRIENDS

Mrs. Whatsit: I’m so glad that you travelled to Camazotz with friends. Sometimes friends can make all the difference in the world. Have you ever had to stand up for something you knew was right when others wanted to do something that you knew was wrong? Having a friend stand with you can make that so much easier. The story I want to share with you is about a group of friends who did just that– some of whom had some pretty weird names: Daniel, and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Now, Daniel loved God, and always tried his best to do the things God wanted him to do and his friends stood with him and risked their lives for what they knew was right. The king ordered his chief official, a man named Ashpenaz, to pick the brightest, smartest, and strongest young men to serve the King. Ashpenaz considered his choices carefully. This was very important. He did not want to let the King down. He ended up choosing Daniel, and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Now it was Ashpenaz’s job to make sure that the young men stayed strong and healthy. The King ordered that the young men were to eat the same food as the royal court. And that was a going to be a problem for Daniel and his friends.


God had been very clear about what they should eat to keep them healthy and strong But the King didn’t follow God’s laws. And since he was mighty and wealthy, he could choose to eat whatever he wanted to. But just because you CAN eat anything you want to, it doesn’t mean you SHOULD, right? Daniel had made up his mind he was going to obey God no matter what and he wasn't going to eat the food the King wanted him to. He was only going to eat the foods that God had commanded. So God was with Daniel and gave him courage. Daniel asked Ashpenaz to help him and God made Ashpenaz listen. But Ashpenaz was afraid. He said to Daniel, “The King has ordered what you are to eat. If you don’t look as strong and healthy as the others, the King might very well kill me!” But Daniel had a plan. “Let my friends and me eat what God has commanded us to eat. Give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. After 10 days, compare us with the others who have eaten the king’s food, and see for yourself who looks healthier.” And so that is just what they did. Sure enough, after 10 days had gone by, Daniel and his friends WERE healthier and stronger than anyone who had eaten the royal food. From then on Daniel and his friends were allowed to follow God and eat what God had commanded. But God had more in store for Daniel and his friends. The training for the four friends began, and God helped them succeed in everything they did. He also gave Daniel a special gift. Daniel could tell the meaning of dreams – just like Joseph. So after three years of training, all the Israelites were brought before the King. No matter what question the king asked, or what problem he came up with, Daniel and his friends knew more than anyone in the whole kingdom. And so Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were appointed to the king’s royal court. All of it was God’s doing. God had put them there for a reason. And Daniel and his friends listened and did as God asked. God was about to show the greatest king in the whole world who the REAL King is.

11:10 Craft


WITH GOD’S HELPING HAND

Materials needed: Paper, Pencils, Markers, copies of the scripture verse (see Appendix), a sample for the participants to see. Instructions: Read together Isaiah 41:13 ("I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.") Give each student a paper. Each person has a friend lightly trace around their right hand in pencil. Beginning on the left side at the thumb, write the words of the verse, following the line around the fingers and outline of the hand right above the trace line – more than once if necessary. The verse should make up the drawing of the hand once you are done. The trace line can be erased if you wish. Try not to write too big, the smaller the better. Use colorful markers to make it look pretty. If you have a lot of pre‐writers, you can photocopy your example for them to color & decorate.

11:20 Singing

11:30 Announcements and depart


THURSDAY: FOOLISHNESS, FAITH, AND FREE WILL

CHARACTERS: MEG, CHARLES WALLACE, CALVIN, MR. MURRY, AUNT BEAST

8:30 Nametags, Singing & Welcome

8:40 Movie (1:28:06‐1:39:27)

8:50 Introduce Father & the Bible story

Mr. Murry: It is so good to see all of you here safe and sound! Meg is with Aunt Beast and we will go check on her later. But before we go, I want you to know that we were sent here for a reason. We know that all things work together for good for those that love God, to those who are called according to God’s purpose. It might seem like foolishness to go back to Camazotz after what we have been through. When we go back to Camazotz to fight the Dark Thing, there are so many things that will help us. God will help us, stars will help us, and light and love will help us. We just need to have faith. I have a story to share with you about foolishness and faith.

FOOD FROM HEAVEN

When the people of God had escaped from Egypt and after they had crossed the Red Sea, the Israelites entered the desert. Do you know about the desert? The desert can be a scary place. There is very little water and food and it gets very hot in the day and very cold at night. When the wind blows – it blows the sand all around – so hard you can’t even see in front of you! Can you even imagine how foolish the people must have thought their leader Moses was for leading them into this place? But God took care of them and watched out for them in the desert. Still, it wasn't long before they forgot about God, and began to grumble and complain. "We were better off in Egypt". "At least there we had good food." Foolish Moses, they thought. Then God told Moses He would drop food from the sky—just like rain! "Tell everyone to gather bread each morning, and meat each evening – enough for each person," said God. And guess what? The very next morning, the ground was covered with white flakes of bread that tasted as sweet as honey. They called it manna. When the evening came – another strange thing happened ‐ quail covered the ground for their meat. Do you know what quail is? For them, it was kind of like a chicken – can you imagine it raining chickens? God sent them this food the whole time they were in the wilderness.


As it turned out, the bread that God rained down for the Israelites was more than food for their bodies. It was also a test to see if the people would trust him to take care of them in the desert. Would they follow God's instructions? Would they gather only enough food for each person? Or, would their lack of faith cause them to hoard some of the precious food? Could they trust God enough to believe that He would continue to feed them? We can trust God. God wants to meet our needs, one day at a time.

9:00 Craft

MANNA PRAYER PLACEMATS

Materials: Copies of the Manna prayer – see Appendix, old magazines, glue sticks, large construction paper, clear adhesive shelf liner, and scissors. MANNA PRAYER: Thank you God for the food we eat, Thank you God for the world so sweet. Thank you God for the birds that sing, Thank you God for everything!

Instructions: Have children find and cut out pictures of food from the old

magazines. Have them glue the pictures onto their construction paper along with

the Manna prayer. Cut a piece of shelf paper out to put on top of their placemat.

Say the prayer together before snack & use the placemats for snack.

9:30 Snack: Quail and Manna – Rice Crispy Treats shaped into chicken drumsticks and bowls of Frosted Flakes dry.

9:45 Half of the children go to Visit Aunt Beast, Meg is there and participates with each group.

Aunt Beast: Welcome to the planet Ixchel. My name is Aunt Beast. I hope that you are not too cold. I can feel your presence and it is lovely. You have been to other planets as well. Have you met other beings on those planets? I can feel you are fighting against the Dark Thing. We are fighting here too. We have many strong forces

Half the children work on Craft

STRINGING PRAYER BEADS

Materials: examples of different types

of prayer beads, Anglican, & Catholic

rosaries, Islamic prayer beads, stringing

material of choice, a variety of religious

charms, and beads.

Instructions: Start by explaining each of

the types of prayer beads that you have


on our side. One of our best weapons cannot even be seen – it is our faith. Sometimes I have trouble putting faith into words or knowing how to pray, But did you know we can pray without using words? We can use our bodies to talk to God – can I show you how?

YOGA

Yoga is becoming a popular exercise

for children. Besides being good for

our bodies, it may also increase

confidence, creativity, and

imagination. It includes an inherent

appreciation for all living things and

as children move into poses imitate

other living things, they learn more

about how we are all connected.

It is best to have a trained yoga teacher

lead this part. If you don’t have one in

your congregation, contact local yoga

studios. If you cannot arrange for a

trained instructor, consider using a

child’s guided meditation instead.

Suggested positions include: Crown,

Heart, Tail, Circle, Jog, Freeze & Melt,

Downward dog, Share Circle, Crying

Breath, Grow into Tree, and Baby Pose.

Aunt Beast: I send you off now my

dears, full of strength and a special

power inside yourself – the power to

know without seeing, the ability to

accepts the gifts given to you by God,

and a new way for you to talk to God

with your whole body.

and how they are used. It is not a

coincidence that prayer beads are used

in almost every religion. The number of

the beads varies according to the

religion. Islamic prayer beads have 99

or 33 beads, etc. What is common

among the religions is how the prayer

beads are used. People repeat a prayer

or prayers for each of the beads. They

can be simple prayers or long prayers.

Explain that the children will create

their own set of prayer beads. They can

copy one of the examples that you have

or they can come up with their own

design that means something special to

them. Ask them to vocalize what each

bead means.


10:30

Groups switch activities/ Break

11:15 Groups return to the Murry house, where Mr. Murry leads the following:

CHOICES , CHOICES, CHOICES

Mr. Murry: Another wonderful gift that God has given us is the gift of free will. The gift of being able to make choices for ourselves. I think one of the hardest things about living on Camazotz would be living without making choices. What are some of the choices you make every day? (Invite children to respond ie. what to have for breakfast, what to wear to school, what to read, etc). On Camazotz – no one gets to make choices – everything is the same – all the time. It would definitely be easier sometimes – especially when we are faced with hard decisions. But remember Daniel and his friends? They had some tough choices to make in order to stand up for what they thought was right.

So what should we do when we are faced with a tough choice? The Bible says, "Seek and you will find, ask and it will be given to you, knock and the door will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7) How can we use that to help us make decisions?

"Seek" – First we look for an answer, right? But where to look? We can look in our heart, for the choice that feels right. We can look in the Bible for God’s words

"Ask" – The next thing we should do is to ask. When we have an important decision to make, we should pray and ask God to tell us what we should do. We can ask people we trust like our parents or our priest, we can follow Aunt Beast’s example and pray to God with our whole bodies.

"Knock" – Imagine your choices like a group of doors. When we don't know which to choose, we should knock on the door and wait to see if God opens that door. If it is what is best for us, God will let us in.

So, what should we do when we face important decisions? Seek for the answer in the Bible and in our heart, ask God in prayer and ask people who we trust, knock and wait for God to open the door.

Teach Hymn #711 “Seek Ye First”

11:30 Depart


FRIDAY: THE POWER OF LOVE

CHARACTERS: MEG, CHARLES WALLACE, CALVIN, FATHER, MRS. WHATSIT, MRS. WHO

8:30 Nametags, Singing & Welcome

8:40 Movie (1:39:27‐2:07:54)

9:00 Mrs. Whatsit: We gave you gifts the last time we sent you to Camazotz and we will not let you go out into the world empty‐handed this time. But what I can give you now is nothing you can touch with your hands. I give you my love. My love always. And you have much more... We have learned about a lot of heroes this week who dared to be different than other people and do what they knew to be right. People who used their special gifts and talents to serve God. People like Valentine, Spiridion, Rose, Daniel and his friends, and of course, Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin. Can you name more fighters of the darkness? (Jesus) Today’s lesson has to do with Jesus and the greatest commandments. One day a man saw Jesus answering many questions for people. The man asked Jesus, “Which of God's commandments is most important of all?” Jesus answered, “Love the Lord our God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your entire mind. The second is this: Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Those are the most important rules – and they both have to do with love ‐ love God with everything we have, and love each other. Not an easy task sometimes, is it – especially to love people you don’t agree with or who are different than you.

9:10 Game

DO YOU LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR?

Materials: Chairs – one less than the number of people playing. 1. Sit the group in a circle. 2. Stand in the center of the circle, and ask one person in the group "Do

you love your neighbor." 3. The person you ask can give either of two possible responses: 1) "Yes"


and then the youth on his/her right and left must switch seats. OR 2) They can say "No, but I love everyone who..." has brown hair, is wearing blue, has been water skiing, name starts with K...

4. Everyone who meets the characteristic has to get up and change seats to a new seat.

5. While people are changing seats the person in the center of the circle tries to grab one of the empty chairs.

6. Whoever is left without a seat get to repeat the process of asking someone in the circle "Do You Love Your Neighbor?"

9:20 Mrs. Whatsit: That was a fun game – but it can also show us that we can find things to love about people – things that may not be obvious when we first meet them. It is love – our love of God and our love for each other that will defeat “IT”. Mrs. Who: Listen all – and listen well:

1 CORINTHIANS 1:25‐30 (CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH VERSION)

25Even when God is foolish, he is wiser than everyone else, and even when God is weak, he is stronger than everyone else.

26My dear friends, remember what you were when God chose you. The people of this world didn't think that many of you were wise. Only a few of you were in places of power, and not many of you came from important families. 27But God chose the foolish things of this world to put the wise to shame. He chose the weak things of this world to put the powerful to shame.

28What the world thinks is worthless, useless, and nothing at all is what God has used to destroy what the world considers important. 29God did all this to keep anyone from bragging to him. 30You are God's children. He sent Christ Jesus to save us and to make us wise, acceptable, and holy.

Paul said that. To the Corinthians. May the right prevail, my friends...

Mrs. Whatsit: Are you ready? We will need to use all of our gifts, and most

importantly – our love!


9:30 Activity

WEB OF LOVE

Materials: a ball of rainbow colored yarn.

As a group, head to Camazotz, where the Prime Coordinator rand Charles Wallace

are waiting. He cajoles, taunts, and tries to befriend the participants. Have them

sit in a circle around the Prime Coordinator. Mrs. Whatsit explains the activity.

Directions: Participants each toss the ball to someone across the circle, as they do

they say something they love about that person (I love that you are good at

trumpet, I love how you make people laugh, etc…) making sure to hold on to part

of the yarn. As the ball is tossed, and people hold on to the yarn that came to

them, it will make a web pattern. Continue until each person has had the ball at

least once or twice and the Prime Coordinator is caught in the web. As the web

gets tighter, he can shrink lower and lower.

Meg: “IT” forgot that we had something it could never have – LOVE! Come on –

let’s go home!

All head to Sanctuary, where parents have arrived to join in the Closing Eucharist.

10:00 Eucharist with Families – See Appendix.


APPENDIX

Saint Spiridion

Saint Valentine

Saint Lawrence

Saint Rose

Scripture Verse for Wednesday

Manna Prayer for Thursday

I Am Special Book

Closing Eucharist


SAINT SPIRIDION Lay out each object as you tell the story.

OBJECT #1 (CLAY FIGURE)

He was not the sort of man you would expect to see at the council of Bishops. He had not been to a

university, he was not a historian and he did not write books.

OBJECT #2 (PICTURE OF CONSTANTINE)

But he was invited to the council of Bishops and in fact he was invited by the emperor himself.

Spiridion was a sheep farmer on the island of Cyprus. He lived there with his wife and family.

OBJECT #3 (CROSS)

Spiridion was a Christian. Even when the emperor Diocletian had ordered everyone to worship the

Roman gods, Spiridion refused. He was one of the lucky ones. He was not put to death. He did not

suffer as some did but he was tortured and one of his eyes was torn out.

He was so highly regarded among his people that they had chosen him to be their bishop. He deserved

the invitation to the Council of Nicea.

OBJECT #4 (WHITE MULE AND BLACK MULE FIGURES)

Spiridion sailed from Cyprus by ship. He took with him two mules, one black and one white. Mules

were not the sort of animal a distinguished bishop would travel with but to Spiridion they seemed

sensible.

OBJECT #5 (COINS)

Along the way he met up with other bishops heading to the council. These bishops had money. They

rode horses not mules. They were embarrassed to be seen with Spiridion. They thought him

uneducated and unworthy to go to the council.

One night when they came to rest at an inn they derived a plan to stop Spiridion. When all were asleep

they slipped into the barn and chopped off the heads of his mules. Without his mules he would not be

able to continue on the journey.

Early the next morning, even before the sun had risen, Spiridion went to the barn to take care of his

mules. He could feel that the mules did not have their heads. Instead of being heartbroken Spiridion

preformed a miracle. He restored the head to his mules.


OBJECT #6 (BLACK MULE WITH WHITE HEAD, WHITE MULE WITH BLACK HEAD)

When Spiridion came out of the barn the bishops were in awe. In the dark he had put the wrong head

on each of mules.

OBJECT #7 (PICTURE OF SPIRIDION)

This is how the farmer‐bishop from Cyprus arrived at the council, riding one black mule with a white

head and one white mule with a black head. And all that saw him knew he was a man of God.

Saint story written by Godly Play teacher Kim Anderson for Trinity Episcopal Church, Iowa City, IA. Used with permission.


SAINT VALENTINE Lay out each object as you tell the story.

OBJECT #1 (BIG FIGURE)

In the ancient city of Rome there was a humble man. He lived in a small dwelling. He was a physician

named Valentine.

OBJECT #2 (BOWLS AND JARS)

Valentine worked from a room in his house. The room was filled with bowls and jars that contained

herbs and powders for healing. People would come to Valentine when they were sick or injured. He

would take care of them and would only accept what they could offer for payment.

OBJECT #3 (CROSS)

Valentine was a priest too. There were not many Christians in Rome. Most worshipped many gods, not

the one true God. When things went wrong in Rome the Romans blamed the Christians. Even with all

the danger Valentine would pray for all of his patients but only after dark.

OBJECT #4 (SMALL FIGURE)

One day a Roman jailer came to Valentine with his daughter. Valentine realized that she was blind. The

jailer asked “Can you give her sight?”

OBJECT #5 (COPPER BOX)

Valentine took a precious copper box filled with a waxy paste. Valentine dabbed the paste in the corner

of the girl’s eyes. That night Valentine prayed for the little girl. The father and daughter returned for

several weeks to seek treatment. Valentine and the little girl became friends.

OBJECT #6 (OVERTURN BOWLS, JARS AND THE COPPER BOX)

One day the Roman soldiers came. They smashed all of the jars and bowls. The copper box spilled to

the floor and Valentine was thrown in prison.

OBJECT #7 (NOTE)

The jailer came to visit Valentine. There was nothing he could do. Valentine wrote on a scrap of

papyrus. He told the jailer to give it to the little girl.

(Unscroll the Note)

Valentine was taken away and executed. The jailer took the note to the little girl. He asked her what it

said. The girl replied “From your Valentine”.



SAINT LAWRENCE Lay out each object as you tell the story.

OBJECT #1 (SMALL PICTURE)

Lawrence was one of seven deacons who were in charge of giving help to the poor and needy.

When a persecution broke out, the Bishop was condemned to death. Lawrence was given all of the

books and treasures of the church.

OBJECT #2 & #3 (BOOKS AND TREASURES)

Lawrence hid all of the books (This is why he the patron saint of libraries).

He sold the treasures of the church and gave all the money to the poor and needy.

OBJECT #4 (GOLD COINS)

The prefect of Rome was a greedy man. He thought the church had hidden treasure. He asked

Lawrence to bring him the treasure. Lawrence asked for three days to collect the treasure.

OBJECT #5 (PEOPLE FIGURES)

Lawrence went through the city and gathered the poor, widows and orphans. He then said “These are

the churches treasures, the poor of Christ”.

The prefect ordered Lawrence to a cruel and slow death.

OBJECT #6 (PICTURE)

Lawrence was tied on top of an iron grill. He was placed on top of a slow fire that roasted his flesh little

by little.

God gave Lawrence so much strength that he almost did not feel the flames. He said to his executioners

“Turn me over I am done on this side”. And just before he died he said “It’s cooked enough now”.



SAINT ROSE OF LIMA Lay out each object as you tell the story.

Rose was born in Lima, Peru. Her real name was Isabel but because her checks were such a pretty pink

they called her Rose. Rose was beautiful.

OBJECT #1 (NEEDLEWORK)

Rose’s family had come upon hard times. Rose was good at needlework, she helped the family by taking

on sewing jobs. Her family was hoping she would marry a rich young man who could help take care of

the whole family.

OBJECT #2 (PEPPER)

Rose hated being pretty. She would rub pepper on her face until it was red and blistered.

OBJECT #3 (CROWN)

She also wore a crown of roses. She would make sure the thorns were extra sharp. She would push the

crown hard on her head so that the thorns would stick into her scalp and make her bleed.

Rose believed that the more she suffered the closer she became to God. She wanted her soul to be

beautiful. Only God could see her soul. She decided to become a Dominican nun.

OBJECT #4 (PICTURE OF ST. CATHERINE)

Rose read books about St. Catherine of Siena. She wanted to copy St Catherine’s way of life. She built a

garden shed, she called it her grotto. She spent her time praying. She would go without food three

times a week.

Rose thought that so many of the people around her were sinful that she would do penance for their

sins too.

OBJECT #5 (PICTURE)

Many thought she was crazy, others laughed at her but Rose did many worthwhile things. She helped

the poor and the suffering.

Rose died at the early age of thirty‐one. She had done so many wonderful things that all of Peru wept

for Rose.



SCRIPTURE VERSE FOR WEDNESDAY – HELPING HAND OF GOD

"I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." Isaiah 41:13 "I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." Isaiah 41:13 "I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." Isaiah 41:13 "I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." Isaiah 41:13 "I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." Isaiah 41:13 "I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." Isaiah 41:13 "I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." Isaiah 41:13


MANNA PRAYER FOR THURSDAY

Thank you God for the food we eat, Thank you God for the world so sweet. Thank you God for the birds that sing,

Thank you God for everything!






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Resource Materials LeaderResources produces practical training manuals, “how‐to” leader's guides and educational materials that are easy to use and modifiy to fit your situation. Step‐by‐step guides assist experienced and new leaders alike. We develop and produce resources in the areas of Christian Formation (children, youth and adult education), Ministry and Leadership Development. Visit our online store for FREE samples of all programs and a downloadable catalog – a print catalog is available upon request.

Evolutionary Resources™ The goal of LeaderResources is to foster learning communities. To this end, the resources we create are constantly changing, improved by those who use them. These “evolutionary resources”™ invite those who use them into the development process with the original program developer. This discourages the tendency to see the developer as the “expert” and encourages those who use the programs to become active participants in the learning process. It also supports our vision of developing and sharing resources as a ministry by and for the whole church.

Computer Resources Almost all of our resources are downloadable from our website (www.LeaderResources.org) as WORD files so you can make your own adaptations with PDF files to us for easy printing. Most of our materials are distributed with a license to duplicate. The license permits you to change most of the material (except quotations). You may not remove the copyright notice; it applies to your adaptation. Nor may you remove the acknowledgment of the authors or any mention of LeaderResources. You can add your name to the materials you contribute (and a copyright notice for them) and add the name of your church on the cover, etc.

Resource People We have many skilled professionals who can offer training programs, serve as keynote speakers or provide consulting services. They can develop and lead training seminars or educational programs that meet your needs. We also offer a “coaching service” where we will provide technical assistance, resource materials and coaching while your local team develops, writes and presents the program, which is then made available to others. Our Associates have a broad range of experience in aspects of education and leadership development. Contact us for more information.

LeaderResources

P.O. Box 302, Leeds, MA 01053‐03202 1‐800‐941‐2218

E‐mail [email protected] www.LeaderResources.org

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